Ravalli County stands to benefit from the injection of $211 million in federal stimulus funds into state highway projects this summer. Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) officials told the County Commissioners last week that about $21 million of stimulus money would go into Highway 93 widening projects in the valley this summer. The department had previously set aside only about $8 million to do only one section of the highway covering about 1.9 miles this summer. With the added funds a whopping total of $29 million will now be spent on four projects covering about 6 miles between Stevensville and Victor.

MDT officials Doug Moeller, Shane Stack and Ben Nunualle explained the project list for the county to the commissioners, including projects slated to 2013 and beyond. Moeller said that the added stimulus funding as well as increased competition among contractors and lower fuel costs have allowed the acceleration of the work ahead of what was originally scheduled.

The first project on the list for this summer is the St. Mary’s Road section north and south covering about 1.9 miles at a cost of about $8 million. This project is set to begin in July.

In August a 2.1 mile long section north and south of Indian Prairie Loop is scheduled for reconstruction at a cost of about $9 million.

Two projects are slated to start in October. One is the 1.4-mile project stretching north and south of Bell Crossing at a cost of $9 million. The other, called Victor Urban North covers only .6 of a mile at a cost of $3 million.

Motorists will face some delays along Highway 93 this summer as the 6 miles of reconstruction takes place.

Some chip sealing is planned for the section of Highway 93 already widened from Hamilton to north of Woodside as well as south of Hamilton to Skalkaho Road. Some structural work is planned on Fish Hatchery Road over Skalkaho Creek near Grantsdale. Some signing and flashers are scheduled to be placed on the Eastside Highway near Ambrose Creek Road north of Stevensville, and a railroad crossing upgrade is planned on Pine Hollow Road southeast of Stevensville. Some signing, delineation and guardrail installation is planned along the lower part of Skalkaho Road as well.

New Rehab Center grand opening planned

The Marcus Daly Rehabilitation Team and their patients have been counting down the days to announce the Grand Opening of the new 12,000 plus square foot Rehabilitation Center. The new center will be unveiled to the public on Friday, June 5 at 1:30 p.m. Meet the team, tour the facility and experience some of the most advanced rehabilitation equipment available. There will be a ceremony at 1:30 p.m. and tours will begin at 2:30 p.m.

The new Rehabilitation Center is located on the southwest end of the hospital campus off of Westwood Drive and offers a patient centered design, including warm colors, vast windows for natural lighting, some of the most advanced rehabilitation technology available, the only Hydroworx 2000 therapy pool in the state and the only multi-discipline rehabilitation team of therapists in Ravalli County that offers one-on-one licensed therapy to their patients.

This new Rehabilitation Center has the space, equipment and the committed team to help patients from the ages of newborn to over 100 in achieving their goals.

“Our team of therapists, administrators and support staff has been working hard to make our vision of providing the highest quality of rehabilitation services in our community a reality,” said Jen Dunn, OT, Rehabilitation Services Department Head. “We have outstanding customer service and patient outcomes and we now have the facility and equipment to complete the package.”

Parking for the grand opening ceremony will be in the hospital main parking lot; attendants will be available to assist with transportation to the center and additional parking.

County prosecutes alleged health and subdivision reg violations

By Michael Howell

According to charges filed in Ravalli County District Court, county health officials have been trying for over a year to get the owners of a parcel of property located on Ricketts Road in Hamilton to come into compliance with county and state sanitary and subdivision regulations to no avail. As a result owners of the property, Ronald Flickinger and Michael Mange, along with Mange’s wife Dora, who is involved with managing the property, are now facing charges of violating county wastewater and subdivision regulations, the state Subdivision and Platting Act, and the requirements for trailer parks and campgrounds, as well as creating a public nuisance.

The county Environmental Health Department (EHD) received complaints from several residents in the area over a period of months beginning in May, 2008. The citizens complained about multiple travel or “pull” trailers, campers and recreational vehicles being illegally used as residences on the property, some of them perhaps having been illegally connected to the existing septic system. Complaints were also made about junk vehicles being stored on the property, unsafe and unsanitary conditions, including piles of rubbish, and the burning of unsuitable materials.

EHD officials first notified the landowners about the potential violations by letter on May, 6, 2008. According to court documents filed in the case, following more complaints, the county confirmed some of the complaints on a site visit in July 2008 and were subsequently assured that the problems would be addressed. A follow up visit in August confirmed that the violations had not been remedied. But the owners of the property once again assured officials that the situation would be addressed.

When it was not, in April of 2009 Ravalli County Health Officer Dr. Carol Calderwood issued an order that the owners cease all burning on the property, vacate all the vehicles that were apparently being rented out, and clean up the trash piles.

When it was determined that the order was not being fulfilled the county filed suit.

Flickinger and the Manges, who did appear before District Judge James Haynes last week, told the judge that they had spoken with an attorney that may represent them in the case, but that he could not make it to court that day. They also expressed an interest in settling the matter with the county without proceeding to trial. Haynes set a date for another hearing in the matter in a few weeks and told the plaintiffs that they could negotiate with the county before that time if they chose to and that the charges filed probably give them a good indication of what the county would be seeking in terms of a resolution of the matter.

Early census operation under way

Have you seen a suspicious looking person roaming your neighborhood recently with a handheld GPS computer? Before grabbing your gun or calling the cops take a closer look. It may just be a Census worker. Look for a badge or a tote bag with the words Census 2010 on it.

The Census Bureau is launching a massive operation to verify and update more than 145 million addresses as it prepares to conduct the 2010 Census. Although the count is still a year away, workers are going door to door, verifying addresses to ensure the accuracy of next year’s Census delivery lists.

Jared Ewy, Media Specialist for the Denver Regional Census Center, which includes Montana, told the Bitterroot Star that calls were already coming in to local police and sheriff’s offices about suspicious persons prowling the streets and roads in Ravalli County.

For the first time ever, Census field staff are using GPS-enabled handheld computers to make census delivery lists as accurate as possible. Steps have been taken to make sure that these workers with handhelds are easy to recognize. Every temporary Census employee will have an official identification badge with the employee’s signature and an expiration date. They will also carry a tote bag with the words Census 2010 and will have an identification card for the inside of their car. Whenever possible, workers have been hired directly from local communities where they are familiar with the neighborhoods and with the people who live in them.

“A complete and accurate address list is the cornerstone of a successful census,” said Cathy Illian, Director of the Denver Regional Census Center. “Work done by our field staff in early operations updates the address list for the delivery of next year’s questionnaires. This ensures more people receive their forms and more people return them.”

The GPS-enabled handheld computers will help ensure geographic accuracy. The ability to capture GPS coordinates for most of the nation’s housing units will greatly reduce the number of coding questions caused by paper maps in previous counts. This further increases the accuracy of delivery lists.

“Yes, there's been talk that it's Obama's evil plan to play Big Brother,” said Ewy, “but the use of GPS was decided several years ago, and a three-year-old with dial-up could access more information than we're collecting. All we're getting is the physical address without any personal identifiable information, so the 2010 Census questionaires will reach the right ‘current resident’ and not the shopping mall that replaced the homes that were there in 2000.”

One of the largest community-mobilization efforts of the decade, Census work is completed in communities and benefits local residents. Through the lifecycle of the 2010 Decennial Census, it will employ workers for thousands of temporary, full- and part-time positions working in neighborhoods throughout the ten-state Denver Region. Nationally, $300 billion in federal funding each year will come back to local areas based, in part, on Census data. Dollars will be used for roads, schools, education, housing and other community-based projects.

All Census information collected, including addresses, is confidential and protected by law. The Census Bureau, and all workers, are bound by law to protect the confidential information collected. Staff also receive extensive Title 13 training on confidentiality and are sworn to secrecy. A violation of that oath is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or up to five years in jail.

The 2010 Census is the largest peacetime operation conducted by the federal government and is the basis for the reapportionment of congressional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. For more information about the Census visit www.2010Census.gov. To access stock photos of Census workers on early operations visit http://www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/broadcast/index.html.

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